Charlie Plumb¹ was a US Navy jet pilot in Vietnam. He flew 74 consecutive² successful combat missions. However on his 75th mission, his F4Phantom fighter was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile and he was forced to eject. The only thing between him and imminent³ death was his parachute that he prayed would open. The parachute did open and Charlie made it down to the ground alive, but he was captured and spent 6 years as a prisoner of war in a Vietnamese prison camp.

One day, many years after returning to his homeland, Charlie and his wife were sitting in a little restaurant in Kansas City when he noticed two tables over was this guy who kept looking at him.

Charlie looked back but didn’t recognize him, but he kept catching⁴ this guy staring at him. Finally the guy stood up and walked over to Charlie’s table and said, “You’re Captain Plumb.”Charlie looked up at him and said, “Yes, I am Captain Plumb.”The guy said,“ You’re that guy. You flew jet fighters in Vietnam. You’re a fighter pilot, part of that ‘Top Gun’ outfit⁵. You launched from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk⁶, you parachuted into enemy territory and you spent six years as a prisoner of war.”

Somewhat dumbfounded, Charlie looked up at the guy and asked, “How in the world did you know all that?” The man chuckled⁷ and said, “Because I packed your parachute.”

Charlie was speechless. The man grabbed Charlie’s hand and pumped his arm and said, “I guess it worked,” and walked off.

Charlie laid awake that night, thinking about all the times he had walked through the long narrow room, below sea level on the aircraft carrier, with the tables where the men packed the parachutes. He wondered how many times he must have walked past this man without even saying “hi,” “good morning” or “good job” or “I appreciate what you do.”

“How many times did I pass the man whose job would eventually save my life...because I was a jet jockey, a top gun racing⁸ around the sky at twice the speed of sound; because I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor? ” he asked himself.

Think about this for yourself. How many times in life do you pass the people who help you out the most? The people who come out of the far corners of your life just when you need them the most and pack your parachutes for you? The people who go the extra mile, the people who don’t look for the kudos⁹ or the accolades¹⁰ or the achievement medal or even the bonus check—the folks who are just out there packing parachutes?

查理•普拉姆是一名越战时美国海军喷气机飞行员。他曾驾机连续成功执行了74次战斗任务。然而，在他第75此执行任务时，他的F4幽灵战斗机被一发地对空导弹炸毁，他被弹射了出去。唯一能够从死亡的边缘挽救他的就是随身带的降落伞，他祈祷着伞能打开。结果，降落伞顺利打开了，查理得以活着着陆，但被敌军俘虏，在越南监狱里被关了6年。

他回到祖国很多年后的一天，查理和妻子坐在堪萨斯城的一个小饭馆里，发现隔着两桌，有个人一直在看他。

查理回看了那人，发现不是熟人，但余光却瞥见那个人还在盯着他。终于，那人站起来走向查理的桌子，对他说：“你是普拉姆机长。”查理抬起头看着他说：“没错，我是普拉姆机长。”那人继续说：“就是你，你在越南驾驶喷气战斗机，你是个战斗机飞行员，穿着飞行服的‘精英一族’。你从吉提霍克号航空母舰起飞，跳伞落到了敌军阵营，后来作为战俘被关了六年。”

查理听完几乎目瞪口呆，他抬头看着那个人问道：“你怎么，怎么会知道所有这些?”那人呵呵笑道：“因为我帮你打包整理的降落伞。”

查理一句话都说不出来。那人抓住查理的手，拉着他的胳膊说：“我想降落伞真的起作用了，”然后就转身走了。

当天晚上查理失眠了，想到在潜入水下的航母上，他走过那间长长的狭窄的房间，许多人围着桌子为飞行员打包降落伞。他想到自己不知有多少次曾与那个人擦身而过，却都没有说一句“你好”，“早上好”，或是“干得好”，“对你做的我很感激”之类的话。

“我有多少次走过那个最终救了我命的人身边却无视他?因为我是个飞行员，是个驾驶两倍于音速的飞机的‘精英一族’;是个战斗机飞行员而他仅仅是个水手?”他质问自己。

回过头想想自己吧。人生中有多少次你曾无视地走过帮助你最多的人?那个看似离你的生活最远，却在最需要的时候默默替你打包降落伞的人?那些多付出一些的人，那些不求功名利禄，不求奖章甚至好处的人——那些仅仅是打包降落伞的人?